UB Researcher Aims to Get Older Adults Moving and Creating

The Health Foundation for Western and Central New York has awarded University at Buffalo (UB) Professor Nikhil Satchidanand a $71,690 grant to continue his work with vulnerable older adults through an recreation program, reports UB News Center . The program will develop and test the effects of a community-based art-making and thinking-while-moving exercise intervention on cognition and motor function in persons 65 and older. "Direct, ongoing feedback from community stakeholders through a series of focus groups will help us create a curriculum that is appealing and appropriate for participants," said Satchidanand. "Trained instructors will work with our community members to create a highly immersive and engaging experience that promotes success, self-efficacy, and a sense of accomplishment." Older adults will work with the project team to develop the dual-task training program using a multisensory exergaming platform. Participants engage with touch-sensitive targets to play games while moving, managing footwork, maintaining balance, and building body awareness. Subjects will participate in weekly art-making and dual-task exercise training, with instruction by trained professionals from Fine Art Miracles and the Ken-Ton Family YMCA. "We hypothesize that weekly art-making and dual-task exercise training will improve executive functions, visual-spatial abilities and motor function," said Satchidanand.